Cold Season
by Phantom Creedy Lover
Summary: Peter has a cold, and Neal's stuck with helping him out and caring for him. What could go wrong? That's Stupid Question #2. Companion piece to I'll Be at the Burkes' for Christmas. Oneshot.


**A/N: This is what comes from my mind after a few post-minor surgery recovery days. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

"LA-HEW! LA-HEW!"

Neal Caffrey wasn't quite sure what to think as he watched as his appointed best friend kept sneezing,. Thanks to the sneezing and the fact that Peter Burke was sitting on a computer chair, the poor man was practically being thrown to the other side other room with each sneeze since the chair moved with the pressure. "You know, Pete, usually a sneeze is 'ah-choo', not 'la-hew'." He said matter of factly.

"Shut up, Caffrey. My sister's coming over in two hours, and she's already on the road. I can't call and cancel, and I can't drive you home. Gotta find out what I can- CHOO- to get you out of here."

"Maddie and I are fine! We got along great. We're friends!" Neal argued.

"You had your tongue down her throat the last time you saw her!" Peter objected

"It was midnight on New Years Eve!" Neal attempted to reason.

"She's my baby sister!" Peter snapped.

"Okay, 'baby' stops at eighteen, so she's been an adult for a while now. We're still only friends."

"Yeah, but how long will that last with you being…_you_?" Peter mumbled.

"I resent that." Neal crossed his arms.

"Good- CHOO!"

Neal smirked. "See?! Higher powers are on my side!"

"God help all law enforcement, then-AH CHOO!" He growled. "Caffrey, go away."

"No."

"Caffrey!" Peter challenged.

"I think you need a hug." Neal offered, opening his arms.

Peter shrunk away. "Get away from me, Crazy!" He sniffled, attempted to hold back another sneeze, then failed. "CHOO!"

Neal watched yet again as Peter was blasted across the room. "Toldja. You sure you don't need to lie down?"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are not-"

"HA!" Neal pointed at him. " Gotcha!"

"…Damn it!" Peter crossed his arms, realizing his mistake.

"Nu-uh." Neal walked over to him.

"What?" Peter demanded, then jumped slightly when Neal grabbed the back of the chair. "Caffrey, what are you doing?"

"Taking care of you. I want brownie points with Elizabeth so I can spend my birthday here." Neal replied, wheeling the chair, with Peter still on it, over to the couch, where he literally dumped the older man onto the floor. Before Peter could even react, Neal had shoved him up and onto the couch, then gotten the blanket.

"Neal, what're you-" Peter just watched as Neal started tucking the blanket in various places, then stepped back to admire his work. Peter looked down, seeing somehow he was now wrapped up in the blanket within about ten seconds. He struggled to get out and found he couldn't. "What did you do? Make a homemade straighjacket?!"

"Maybe." Neal grinned

"No!" Peter snapped. He attempted to get up, but between the sofa cushions and blanket, it didn't work. "Damn it, Neal!"

Neal waved. "You want soup? I'll get soup."

"No. We're out from the last time El was sick, anyway."

"Then I'll get Moz to bring some over."

"No! If he knows it's for me, he'll poison it!" Peter shook his head.

"Then I'll tell her it's for June. He likes her… a bit too much, actually."

"Neal, go home to June's. Now. I'm fine."

"It's your day off! Do you honestly expect me to just leave you alone-"

"Maddie will be here in-"

"Two, I heard you. I'm not gonna leave my best friend alone for two hours."

"A, I'm not your best friend, B, even if I was, best friends are apart for over two hours a day."

"You just contradicted yourself with 'even if I was'." Neal pointed out.

"…Shut up, Caffrey."

"I'll get that soup, now." Neal grinned, not at all phased by the order. He made his way over to the door.

"Yes, leave." Peter called

"Be back in ten!" Neal called, closing the door behind him.

"Years, if I'm lucky." Peter muttered.

----

Neal didn't want to admit it, but Peter had been right. The second he asked Mozzie to make chicken soup, Mozzie had demanded if it was for Peter. He shrugged it off, and like he told Peter, he said it was for June. He was surprised Mozzie fell for it. Of course, it was more than ten minutes in the apartment alone, but Neal figured he'd give Peter a break. When the soup was finally done, Neal went out the door without so much as a "thank you" to Mozzie. The older man dismissed it with an eye roll. It was nothing new, after all. His work was _never_ appreciated.

Another few minutes passed, and now Neal was waiting patiently at the Burkes' door. He had rung the bell, and was confused as to why Peter wasn't getting it. He knew the FBI agent would get the door, knowing full well Neal would just ring the bell continuously if he didn't get it on the first two rings. He was just about getting annoyed when he remembered the condition that he left Peter in. He also remembered that he hadn't locked the door. He stomped his foot, realizing that wasn't the wisest thing to do, especially at the residence of an agent. However, he pushed it to the back of his mind and stepped inside. "Hey, Pete! I'm baaaaaack." He waited for a groan of protest, but a snore was the return sound. "…Pete?" He walked into the living room, finding Peter right where he had left him, although the agent was now asleep. He snorted, then went into the kitchen and put the soup on the counter. Who knew Peter snored that loud? Well, except for Elizabeth, of course. He leaned over and greeted Satchmo when the dog came over. "Hey, buddy. Just me."

Satchmo nuzzled him, then trotted off.

Neal went back into the living room and sighed. Peter hadn't budged. He looked over at the door when the doorbell rang and went over to it. He got his charming smile ready just before he reached for the knob, then opened the door. "Maddie, hi!"

Madison Burke's smile dropped for a moment. "Oh, Neal. Uh, hi, I didn't expect you."

"Not many do. Come in."

"Is Peter…?"

"He got a cold sometime in the past couple of days. Not very pleasant."

"Oh? I can come back." Madison replied.

"No, no. I'll wake him up. You live just under an hour away, right? You and Peter had this planned for a couple of weeks. Come in, we'll wake him up."

"Wake him up?" Madison raised an eyebrow.

"He conked out on the couch." Neal replied. "Come on. Sisters are the best at this." Neal motioned for her to come inside, then closed the door behind him. He had to admit he was impressed that she just walked in after his offer, but at the same time, concerned for her. He knew she could sense he was the only male around and had just said her brother was asleep and therefore no help to her if he tried anything with her. He always loved girls like that, but he knew if he acted on anything, Peter would kill him, then cut him up into little pieces, then burn the pieces and scatter the ashes. He followed her into the living room, where she knelt next to Peter on the couch.

"Hey, Pete?" she nudged him.

Peter flinched slightly.

"Pete. Wake up, it's me."

Peter groaned. "Away, Neal."

"It's not Neal. It's Maddie, you idiot." Madison laughed.

"I meant make Neal go away." Peter mumbled, shifting slightly.

Madison smacked his arm, but the man just groaned again, somehow managed to turn back over, and fall back to sleep, indicated by another snore.

Neal blinked. "O…kay, that's a first." He looked back at Madison and smiled. "So, feel like having some of Pete's liquor?"

Madison snorted, much like Peter's, Neal noted, then raised an eyebrow, also like brother, like sister. "He locks that thing up so no one can get in it whatsoever, and tells you how to get into it?"

Neal laughed. "No, he didn't let me know how to get in…" He waited for her to look like she was awaiting the big finish. "He just has to be careful about who just happens to be looking over his shoulder when he unlocks the cabinet."

Madison shook her head. "You're terrible."

Neal grinned yet again. "I've been called worse… by your brother, actually."

"Go figure." Madison replied.

Neal shrugged, then got up and headed towards where the cabinet was. "Now, when I get this set up, about that story about how Peter was a reckless S.O.B…"

Peter twitched, then slowly came to as the call of sleep finally wore off him. He opened his eyes, then closed them again sharply. It was a bad idea to open your eyes fully and right away when it was a perfect, sunny day and you were in the middle of the brightest room of the house.

"Oh, Hell yes, it's the hair."

"Really? _The hair_?"

"Oh, shut up. You know perfectly well your draw is your hair. It's too damn perfect for you not to. Not to mention your eyes."

Peter wasn't sure who he was mad at more. Neal for flirting with his sister (in his house, no less), or Maddie for falling right into it.

"Hey, you're not too bad with those yourself."

Peter opened one eye carefully so it looked like it hadn't opened, and upon seeing that Neal had just flipped Madison's hair with his finger, he decided Neal would be the first to go. He lunged, which didn't go too well, being that he forgot about the straightjacket Neal had put him in. He landed facedown on the hardwood floor with a rather loud 'THUD'. If anything, Peter was happy that the other two had sprung apart and were now gaping at him.

"Caffrey, get me outta this. Now!" Peter barked, trying to free himself, but coming out looking more like a fish out of water, flopping about.

"Sure, Pete." Neal bent down, and to Peter's annoyance, he was free in a couple of tugs.

Peter got up and practically ripped the blanket off of him. "Caffrey, kitchen. Now."

Neal opened his mouth, but found he didn't have much choice to object. Peter grabbed him by the back of his neck, pulled up, and Neal was off the couch and walking backwards. "Yeah, your brother, I should…" he saw Madison looked more amused than anything, so he gave up and waited for Peter to turn him around and shove him the rest of the way into the kitchen. "You're very abusive, Peter. I hope you know that."

"Shut up. Did you hear _anything_ I said on New Years?"

"Yeah. You said you'd break me in two if I broke her heart."

"No, I said break your neck. I would- and will kill you, Neal. Don't think this partnership will change tha-CHOO!" the threat was now completely gone, foiled by his misbehaving immune system.

Neal licked his lips, then pressed them into a thin line to keep from laughing.

Peter pointed at him, taking in two large breaths to keep the same thing from happening twice. "Neal, my sister is not Kate, and she's not one of your damn conquests. Stop it with her while you're ahead."

"We were talking, Pete." Neal replied. He wasn't sure why the 'Kate' bit didn't come like a punch in the gut.

Peter scoffed. "I've told you not to call me that-"

"Talking is all." Neal glared at him.

" 'Talking' is not playing with someone's hair or sitting two inches away from them after knowing them for a day and a couple of hours, Neal- AC CHOO- Damn it!" Peter looked down and pinched his nose.

Neal took the distraction as a chance to get the soup, in which he did, and when Peter looked back up, there he was, soup held at chest level, eyes wide and bright, and grin plastered on his face.

Peter glared at him more, then with another half-sneeze, groaned and took the bowl before going into one of the cabinets to dig out a bowl, then the drawer to get a spoon.

Neal looked like a five-year-old whose teacher just told him he did a good job.

Peter transferred some of the soup into the smaller bowl, then walked back into the living room. Neal had to admit that he was impressed yet again when Peter told him to shut up when he had just opened his mouth to comment. Peter even had his back turned to him. He pursed his lips, then followed him in. He hid the smirk that came when Peter sat where Neal had been minutes before and stretched out so Neal had to place to go but the other couch.

"Hi Maddie." Peter grumbled, not looking away from Neal.

"Hi, Pete." Madison replied, glancing between them. "You know, I kinda of figured when Neal came to the door it was gonna end up being a bad time to come, so…" she started to stand, only to get shoved back down by Peter.

"No, Maddie. Stay. You're wanted here."

Neal smirked. "He says in front of the guy who brought him soup."

"That was made by your loyal sidekick." Peter shot back, only to sniffle. He decided to give up on the tough guy image for the next couple of days.

"That's new, I'll have to call him that, see if he likes it." Neal replied.

Peter shot him a warning look, then took a bigger spoonful of soup- only to spit it out. "Jesus! Neal, you told him it was for you, right?!" he doubled over.

Neal nodded slowly, growing worried for his partner. "Yeah, why?"

"I think he's trying to kill you." Peter replied.

"What? Let me see." Neal took the bowl and spoon, eating a spoonful himself, only to spit it out as well. "Oh God! It's awful!"

"Oh really?" Peter grumbled sarcastically.

Neal nodded. "Maddie, try this."

Peter snatched it back. "This thing needs to go through tox…"

Madison sighed. "You guys are idiots."

"Love you too, Maddie." Peter shot back.

"You didn't even notice… wow, just wow." Madison shook her head.

"Notice what?" Neal asked.

"Nothing." Madison shook her head.

Neal sighed, then pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Moz- I don't care. Nobody knows any 'Moz's in the city. What was in that? Yes, I had it. No, it wasn't for… I'm the one asking questions, here! … You put WHAT in chicken noodle soup?! Cayenne pepper?! Moz, I… I'm never going to you for food again. NO! It didn't clear the sinuses, it burned them to a crisp. Moz, just don't. No, I'll be here after a while now that you just tried to kill me via something that was supposed to make me better. Bye, Moz." He hung up. "…Cayenne pepper."

"Yeah, he knew it was for me. Ooooh." Peter moaned in pain, laying back on the couch. "Alright, Madison. You win. Leave. I don't want you to catch anything. Thanks for coming by. I wish I could've called you to cancel and not put you through this." He shot Neal a look.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just head downtown and get in some shopping. Hey, I saw you, so it's worth it, huh?" She hugged him. "I'll talk to you later, I promise." She turned around. "Neal,"

Neal grinned. "Mm hm?"

Madison mouthed "call me" and made a phone with her fingers, only to turn around and give Peter a peck on the cheek before he could even object. "Kidding, Pete. I love you." She took her purse from the table, then turned and clapped Neal on the back. "Try and keep my brother out of trouble, huh?"

"No promises." Neal replied.

"See you soon, boys."

Neal walked her to the door before Peter could object again, then came back in and sat on the couch opposite Peter. "So that was fun."

"You're not half dead." Peter replied.

"True…" Neal nodded, only to stop and let out a small "choo" of his own. He froze the second after he released it, and slowly looked at Peter, who was glaring at him.

"Very funny, Caffrey." Peter growled before curling back up on the couch.

"That wasn't fake." Neal replied, eyes wide, frown growing.

Peter rolled his eyes at Neal, then finally saw Neal's horrified expression. "No…!" he slowly grinned.

With another minor sneeze, Neal let his shoulders slump. "Where's your vitamin C?"

Peter laughed. "Top shelf in the closet by the bathroom." He watched Neal leave, then shook his head. He slowly realized what Madison must've been getting at. Neal had eaten some of Peter's soup with the same spoon. Of course, it wasn't fast enough to infect Neal with his cold, but they were together enough for Neal to pick it up- and make it worse with the shared soup. He laughed again as Neal came in, blanket in hand. The man collapsed on the other couch, turned on the television, and pulled the blanket over himself. "This is now the sick house. Tell Elizabeth to stay with Maddie for a few days." Neal informed him.

Peter just kept laughing.

Neal sighed. "You're enjoying the fact that you gave me this cold with your stupid soup." Neal growled.

"Oh please, it's not just the soup. You stick around me all the time. It was bound to happen- LA-HEW!" He sneezed, then leaned back and made himself comfortable. "Enjoy the misery, Neal."

"I hate you, Peter Burke."

"It's about time, Neal Caffrey."

----

**A/N: Review, tell me what you thought. I'd love any feedback.**


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